MCS To Expand Building To Accommodate Chatham Children’s Fund

CHATHAM – When the Chatham Children’s Fund lost the donated space on Stony Hill Road that the nonprofit had worked out of for a decade, its leaders began scouting for a new spot to call home. It wasn’t easy.

 Fortunately, the organization — which provides winter coats and other clothing as well as Christmas gifts for local children — found temporary space at Our Lady of Grace Chapel on Route 137. While the Children’s Fund will continue to operate out of the church for the coming year, by Christmas 2026 it expects to have permanent quarters.

 Monomoy Community Services (MCS), which has worked with the Chatham Children’s Fund for more than a decade, is adding a 1,000-square-foot addition to the Depot Road building it has occupied since the 1970s. It’s the first substantial renovation to the 120-year-old building and will also provide new office and storage space for the nonprofit human services agency.

 Pat Vreeland of the Children’s Fund said it’s important to have the organization “embedded” in the community that it serves.

 “And Monomoy, to me, is the hub of services [for families] in Chatham,” she said.

 Having the two organizations under one roof has long been a goal. MCS handles much of the Children’s Fund administrative work and provides an umbrella for its nonprofit status. 

 “We’re excited about it,” said MCS Executive Director Theresa Malone. “We think it makes sense in the long haul.”

 Working through MCS and the schools, the 25-year-old Chatham Children’s Fund provides clothing, Christmas gifts and help accessing food, fuel and funds for unforeseen medical, dental and other emergencies for the town’s children and their families. Between 100 and 150 families cycle in and out of its programs, Vreeland said, with the group helping out 200 to 240 youngsters every year. Through contacts in the school, the Children’s Fund is ready to step in to meet the needs of the town’s kids, whether it be for a backpack or new sneakers.

 “If I hear of something, we’ll make it happen, whatever it is,” she said.

 MCS began operating out of the Depot Road building in 1973 as a teen drop-in center. It transitioned to child care programs in the 1980s, and today has a staff of about a half dozen who run daycare for kids in kindergarten through Grade 2 during the school year and a day-long summer camp from June to August, geared primarily to working families.

 The agency also administers the town’s childcare voucher program and provides information and referral services for local families.

 The two programs have had a great relationship, Vreeland said, and between them have an awareness and understanding of the needs of local families.

 “It’s a really tight network,” Malone noted.

 Storage is a big need for the Children’s Fund, especially over the holidays, said Vreeland. The new addition, designed by A3 Architects, should provide plenty of space for storing winter coats and toys. MCS’s offices, currently located up a steep staircase on the second floor, will move to the new addition, with the former offices providing more storage. The lower level will provide an accessible entrance and rest room. There will be some minor changes to the existing building, including a covered front porch.

 The project made it through the historic business district commission and zoning board of appeals without a hitch, Malone said.

 “The boards have been really supportive,” she said.

 To date about $125,000 has been raised toward the estimated $1.5 million project cost. A $500,000 grant is being sought from the Children’s Investment Fund, and resident Hank Holden has been enlisted to help with upcoming fundraising efforts.

 Work is expected to begin in the fall with an eye toward completion by the following summer. The new space should serve both MCS and the Chatham Children’s Fund well into the future, Vreeland and Malone said.

 “We’re not going anywhere,” Malone said.